Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The Nature Of Private Property

"If man in the state of nature be so free, as has
been said; if he be absolute lord of his own person and possessions,
equal to the greatest, and subject to no body, why will he part with his
freedom? Why will he give up this empire, and subject himself to the
dominion and control of any other power? To which it is obvious to
answer, that though in the state of nature he hath such a right, the
enjoyment of the property he has in this state is very unsafe, very
unsecure. This makes him willing to quit a condition, which, however
free, is full of fears and continual dangers: and it is not without
reason, that he seeks out, and is willing to join in society with
others, who are already united, or have a mind to unite, for the mutual
preservation of their lives, liberties and estates, which I call by the
general name, property."

John Locke (1632 - 1704)

This is an individual
who's thoughts and writings about freedom and natural law had a great
influence on those who founded the United States, and on one Thomas
Jefferson in particular who wrote the Declaration of Independence.

To wit - if an individual
is, by a state of nature, master of property earned and owned, and
finds the enjoyment of that property to be unsafe or insecure, that
individual would reasonably seek out those of like mind and unite with
them in the interest of preservation of that property.

From my Oxford dictionary, the definition of property, as it applies to the law, is "the right to possession, use or disposal of something; ownership."

Does it not follow,
therefore, that the Founding Fathers, so influenced by such natural law
as private property, would choose and develop an economic system that
encourages capitalism, free enterprise and free markets? If a legal
framework that encourages moral and voluntary exchange is not integral
to the system, the government they founded could not exist!

And if these masters of
the ability to possess, use or dispose of their private property feel it
unsafe or insecure, or are under the threat of having it more and more
completely or forcefully removed, what does Locke suggest they would reasonably do?

SEPARATE AND UNITE WITH THOSE OF LIKE MIND.

Interestingly, in my
previous free enterprise quote, Ayn Rand suggests that the death knell
of any nation would happen when one half of a population is expected to
support the other half that feels entitled to that support.

That is the very premise of her book Atlas Shrugged. In that book those with ownership of tangible, financial or intellectual property do separate and unite.

In order for this condition to be reached, property owners have to be identified by how much they possess.

If income level so
determines their identity, or income earned from PREVIOUSLY-ACQUIRED
possession, any level is baseless. No matter one's income, someone else
will consider that "rich" by comparison! And when an overlord
determines the level of income that must be treated differently, no
matter the level, it can only be ARBITRARY.

Why? For certainly,
CERTAINLY, that level will encompass a great number of people whose
income is LESS than than is earned by the overlords, and the overlords
will justify ways, and find ways, and install ways around its
application to them! Whatever the overlords can and will do to benefit
themselves will be "legal." They will protect their property with the
law! And if those same things were to be done by the rest, well, that
would be considered "illegal." They, a separate class, would be punished by the law!

The phrase "four legs good, two legs bad" applies well!

Eventually that
pinpointed income level will not provide enough for redistribution to
the "entitled" or "dependent" class and redistribution will have to
increase as the arbitrary, taxable, income level is lowered, and lowered, and then lowered
again.

So, when do those whose earned property is so threatened that they do in fact seek to associate with others of like mind?

THAT, BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF THE CONGREGATION, IS YET, AND PERHAPS SOON, TO BE SEEN ... STAY TUNED.

About Me

I'm just a self-employed American home inspector worried about the direction of our country. Specifically, my worry concerns how many Americans view free market economics, free enterprise and American capitalism - derisively! This blog is to educate and inform. And participate in the debate.